Don't Worry; Be Happy

mxmmstudent
Thu, 08 Aug 2013 01:44:33 +0000

Today when I got home from work I found this bookmark in my browser, and I decided to read through these forums that had once occupied my attention as an anxious high-schooler. I read through my old history and I was filled with nostalgia and the “wisdom” of hindsight, and I think I always intended to check up on this community after I had progressed far enough in college.

What I have to say may seem pretentious, it may seem ill-conceived, or even misplaced (I apologize if it is any of these things.) But I felt the need to combat what I sensed in my own posts from years past. On these boards I feel a kind of creeping nervousness that has you rechecking the page every 15 minutes to see what chance someone has given you for getting into Yale. I see anxiety over “Adcoms” and “ECs” and “SAT II’s”, words that are never used in any other setting. I see pride and shame and compliment-baiting, and I can identify with every bit of it. My message is simple: if you are a high-schooler just now applying to college, this place will mean nothing to you in a year. Life is so much more than prestige and achievement, and I almost regret spending as much time here as I did.

Don’t get me wrong, these boards provide information in a world where it may be hard to otherwise find, but I just wanted to share my own story to qualm any similar fears that may be hiding around here.

If you would’ve asked me three years ago, I would have been disappointed with where I am. I didn’t get into my first choice (MIT) or my second choice (Princeton) or my third (Harvard), but I still wouldn’t have been very surprised: those are very hard schools to get into. However, the moment I stepped onto Cornell’s campus, every “what if” or “should have” disappeared from my mind. I met people and had experiences that I would hold onto more tightly than any embroidered Harvard diploma. I experienced and accomplished things that I never thought I would, but I didn’t even pursue the degree I originally intended to. I had some times of loneliness and some times of feeling absolutely on top of the world. I planned on a college career of noble academic pursuit, but the most memorable moments have been at parties. I have changed so much, and I’m only halfway through.

So, while this all may seem like a condescending, misdirected rambling, I really mean to communicate that this isn’t the most important part of your life. It’s the trailers before the movie, and getting emotionally attached to the details will just leave you exhausted and bitter. I’m happier than I have ever been and things ended up not at all how I expected them to. I wish nothing short of what I’ve had for anyone else on these boards, and I hope that everyone who’s getting ready to stress themselves out over the mess of college applications will be able to take a deep breath and remember that we’re all just stumbling mortals whose happiness rarely comes from meticulous planning and execution.

Carpe diem.